CD 3146 
.J8 
1889 
Copy 1 




State of Connecticut 



REPORT 



Secretary of State 




AND 



STATE LIBRARIAN 



GENERAL ASSEMBLY 



ANCIENT COURT RECORDS. 



Printed by Prder of the Legislature. 



HARTFORD. CONN.: 

The Case, Lockwood & JBraiiiard Company, Printers. 

188 9. 



Tr V. 



State of Connecticut. 



REPORT 



~"-"T" 



OF THE 



Secretary of State 



STATE LIBRARIAN 



TO THE 



GENERAL ASSEMBLY 



ON 



ANCIENT COURT RECORDS. 



Printed by Order op The J^ecsisl/iTiJre. , : \ 



HAETFOED, CONN.: 

The Case, Lockwood & Brainard Company, Printers. 

188S. 



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To the Honorable General Assembly of the State of Connecti- 
cut, at the January Session, 1889 : 

By a resolution approved March 10, 1886, the Secretary of 
State and the State Librarian were constituted a committee 
" to make inquiry, or to procure the same to be made, with 
regard to any ancient, colonial, or State records of any courts, 
now or formerly existing ; also of any colonial or State rec- 
ords of any of the territorial organizations now or formerly 
existing within this State, for the purpose of taking measures 
for the preservation and indexing of said records;" and the 
committee was directed to make report of their doings to the 
then next session of the General Assembly. 

The committee was unable to accomplish the work in sea- 
son to report it to the General Assembly at their session in 
January, 1887, and at that session a resolution was passed 
(No. 276), authorizing the expenditure of the remainder of 
the appropriation for the purpose after the close of the then 
fiscal year. 

The resolution of 1886 was passed at the instance of the 
Connecticut State Bar Association. We employed Sherman 
W. Adams, Esq., who has been much interested in the sub- 
ject, to examine the records in the offices of the clerks of 
Hartford, New Haven, New London, Fairfield, and Windham 
Counties, as also the records of the four original probate dis- 
tricts. The account of the records in the counties of Litch- 
field, Middlesex, and Tolland we received from the clerks of 
those counties respectively. 

We submit the following account of the court records of 
Connecticut now existing in several repositories. We have 
not reported upon the probate records, save as to those of the 
four districts originally constituted, which it was necessary 



to do on account of the connection between these courts and 
the county courts. 

Of the five hundred dollars appropriated for this object by 
the General Assembly, we have expended three hundred and 
forty-two dollars and sixty-five cents. 
Respectfully, 

LEVERETT M. HUBBARD, 

Secretary of the State. 
CHARLES J. HOADLY, 

State Librarian. 
Hartford, January 9, 1889. 



COURT RECORDS IN THE SECRETARY'S OFFICE. 



Of the records of the General Court or Assembly of the 
Cqlony of Connecticut, which in early times was also a court 
of appeals, and had original jurisdiction in the more import- 
ant equity cases, it is not necessary to say much, because 
they are in print from April, 1636, to April, 1775, inclusive. 

The State Records, which begin with the session of the 
General Assembly in October, 1776, were made up in the 
same manner as the Colonial Records had been until 1859. 
The first volume, 1776-80, is getting worn, and should be 
printed to preserve it. The indexes for the first half century 
or so are very unsatisfactory. 

PARTICULAR COURT. 

The records of the Particular Court were kept in the same 
book with those of the General Court until 1649. This court 
had jurisdiction over every subject of judicial controversy 
throughout the colony. It was succeeded in 1666 by the 
County Courts. The second volume of these records, which 
is the first kept in a separate book, is thus lettered : Partic- 
ular Court, Vol. II, Probate Records, and begins with a court 
held at Hartford, March 7, 1649-50, and ends with one held 
May 16, 1663. There are 196 pages of court proceedings, 
and 185 pages of wills and inventories. This volume after a 
disappearance of many years was recovered in the city of 
New York in December, 1861. The third volume is lettered : 
Probate Records, Book III, County Court. It begins with 
Hartford Quarter Court, June 4, 1663, and extends to a 
county court held at Hartford by adjournment December 6, 
1677. It contains 167 pages of court records, 199 pages of 
wills and inventories, and three pages of land records. Both 



6 

these volumes are in good condition, and well indexed for 
names in the court proceedings. Volumes IV, V, and VI, in 
continuation of the preceding, are in the Hartford Probate 
Office. 

COURT OF ASSISTANTS. 

The Records of the Acts of the Court of Assistants in the 
Colony of Connecticut, beginning May 11, 1669, and extend- 
ing to October 7, 1686, and of the same court from October 

1, 1696, to October 3, 1701, fill 137 pages of a volume let- 
tered Colonial Records, New England, 1659-1701. This 
court was established in October, 1665, and the records prior 
to 1669 are in Book III of the County Court. The continua- 
tion is found in a large parchment bound book entitled : No. 

2. Records Court of Assistants, Superior Court. Began 
1687. Ends in 1715. It begins with the record of a special 
court of assistants, February 15, 1686-7. At page 4 is this 
memorandum by Caleb Stanley, Jr. : " Now in the moneth 
of October, anno Dom. 1687, Sir Edmund Andross, knight, 
Governor of New England, received and took upon him the 
government of this his Majesties Colony of Connecticut, and 
therefore there was no court of assistants holden in this 
Colony in the year 1688, nor in May, anno Dom. 1689, and 
the court book containing the records of the court of assist- 
ants holden at Hartford in October, 1689 (if any court was 
then held *), can't be found." The record then goes on from 
a court held May 27, 1690, to one held May 11, 1696, and 
the reverse of the volume contains the records of the court of 
assistants from May 7, 1702, and of its successor, the superior 
Court, to November 8, 1715. A large folio 423 + 36 pages. 
Both these volumes are indexed for names. 

SUPERIOR COURT. 

This court was established in 1711, and was a circuit court 
with one clerk until 1798, when an act was passed directing 

"*That there was a session of the court of assistants October, 1689, 
appears from the printed Colonial Records, IV, 25. 



the judges to appoint a clerk in each county, and ordering 
that the then existing records of the court be kept in the 
office of the Secretary of this State, who was vested with all 
the powers of clerk of said court in all matters relating to 
said records. The records of the superior court were not so 
well and carefully kept as those of the court of assistants had 
been, but they are in a good state of preservation. They are 
unpaged and not indexed, except where otherwise stated. 
The following is a catalogue of the volumes : 

A book not labelled. It begins with cases in Hartford 
County, September, 1711, in the handwriting of Jonathan 
Law, and extends to October term, 1714, at New Haven. It 
also contains from the adjourned court at New Haven, Febru- 
ary, 1748-9, to Windham County term, June, 1749. It 
seems to be waste books bound together. 

No. 1. Parchment bound. From March term, 1714-15, 
at Fairfield, to March term, 1718, at New Haven. 

No. 2. Parchment bound. September term, 1718, Fair- 
field, to September term, 1721, New Haven. 

No. 3. Parchment bound. September, 1721, Hartford, to 
September, 1724, New Haven. 

No. 3j-. " The records of the Superior Court in the Colony 
of Connecticut in New England, beginning at the court 
holden at Fairfield, March 6th, anno R. Rs. Gii. 2°, annoque 
Domini, 1715-6," to May, 1724, Hartford. This is a larger 
folio, paged and indexed, bound in parchment. It is a con- 
tinuation of No. 2, Court of Assistants. On the cover is 
written in a modern hand : " This book is a repetition of 
No. 1 in part, commencing with corresponding date in that 
book and extends nearly through No. 3." Lying loose in the 
book is the record of a Court of Equity holden at New Lon- 
don, in the county of New London, on the 27th day of March, 
1716, by special commission from the Gen'll Court holden at 
New Haven on the second Thursday in October, 1715. — 17 
written leaves. 

No. 4. Parchment. September, 1724, Hartford, to Sep- 
tember, 1727, New Haven. 



8 

No. 4. Bis. In modern binding. August, 1724, Fair- 
field, to August, 1728, Fairfield. Two executions and the 
will of George Clark are recorded at the end. This is a con- 
tinuation of No. 3J, and a duplicate of No. 4, and parts of 
No. 3 and No. 5. 

No. 5. Parchment. September, 1727, Hartford, to May 

1730, Hartford. 

Book in paper cover. August, 1730, Fairfield, to May, 

1731, Hartford. Fifty-two leaves. 

No. 6. August, 1731, Fairfield, to August, 1736, Fairfield. 

No. 7. Parchment. September, 1736, New Haven, to 
August, 1741, New Haven. 

No. 8. Parchment. September, 1741, Hartford, to 
August, 1745, New Haven. 

No. 9. Parchment. September, 1745, Hartford, to Janu- 
ary, 1748-9, Windham. 

No. 10. Parchment. August, 1749, Fairfield, to August, 
1753, New Haven. 

No. 12 [11]. September, 1753, Hartford, to March, 1756, 
Hartford. An execution prefixed. Bound in rough sheep. 

[No. 12.] March, 1756, Windham, to August, 1756, New 
Haven. Reverse end: " On this side are entered sundry 
Executions whereby Lands were taken in satisf action. " 
Dates from 1747 to 1793. Bound in rough sheep. 

No. 13. December, 1756, Hartford, to September, 1759, 
New London. Rough sheep. 

No. 14. February, 1760, Fairfield, to March, 1763, Wind- 
ham. Rough calf. 

[No. 15.] March 1763, Norwich, to September, 1765, New 
London. February, 1766, Fairfield, 6 pp. laid in. 

[No. 16.] February, 1766, New Haven, to September, 
1769, Hartford. Laid in are, Fairfield, August, 1766, 10 pp., 
Fairfield, February, 1768, 15 pp., Fairfield, April, 1768, 6 
pp., and other papers. 

[No. 17.] September, 1769, Windham, to August, 1772, 
New Haven. 

[No. 18.] September, 1772, Hartford, to December, 1777, 



9 

New Haven. Lying in it are Fairfield, August, 1770, and 
Fairfield, April, 1777. 

[No. 19.] August, 1773, Litchfield, to March, 1782, Nor- 
wich. Lying in it is January, 1781, Windham. 

[No. 20.] August, 1782, Litchfield, to November, 1784, 
New London. 

[No. 21.] December, 1784, New Haven, to March, 1786, 
Norwich. 

[No. 22.] July, 1786, Middletown, to March, 1788, 
Windham. 

[No. 23.] March, 1788, Norwich, to January, 1790, 
Haddam. 

[No. 24.] January, 1790, New Haven, to March, 1791, 
Tolland. 

[No. 25.] March, 1791, Windham, to August, 1793, 
Litchfield. 

[No. 26.] September, 1793, Hartford, to September, 1795, 
Hartford. 

[No. 27.] September, 1795, Windham, to September, 
1797, Windham. 

[No. 28.] September, 1797, New London, to March, 1798, 
Norwich. 

Superior Court Records, Chancery, 1774-96. Begins, 
Litchfield, August, 1774, but cases are not chronologically 
entered. There are 214 pages, and the book was once 
indexed, but A to Q is now lost. It has been rebound within 
a few years. 

Superior Court Records. Executions, 1784-1798. Not 
paged nor indexed. 

The Files of the Superior Court are stored in the attic over 
the Supreme Court room. They are voluminous enough to be 
complete. They are arranged in bundles, according to the 
term, are labelled, and in good order. Selections from them, 
together with most of the extant files of the Court of Assist. 
ants and earlier courts, have been arranged in volumes in the 
State Library, lettered Crimes $ Misdemeanors, 1663-1778, 



10 

6 vols., Court Papers, 1700-1705, and some in the series 
Private Controversies, 

SUPREME COURT. 

A volume lettered Reasons of the Court of Errors contains 
opinions in some cases from June term, 1803, to June 
term, 1807. There are ninety written pages, and the book 
is about a quarter full. One case, Pollard and Picket v. Ely, 
is not reported ; the others are in Day, vols. 1 and 2. 

Records of the Supreme Court of Errors, beginning on the 
first Tuesday of June, 1810, and ending with June term, 
1817. Thirty-six written leaves, about one-quarter of the 
book, the rest being blank. It is neither paged nor indexed. 
Both these books are in good order. 

NEW HAVEN JURISDICTION. 

Of the records of the New Haven Jurisdiction, the only 
volume now known to be extant is in the Secretary's office, 
where it was deposited in accordance with an act of the Gen- 
eral Assembly of Connecticut passed in 1772. It extends 
from May, 1653, to the end of that government, and 
it was printed in 1858. It is probable that the earlier vol- 
ume of these records, 1641-1653, was lost or destroyed 
before 1698. 



COURTS IN THE TIME OF SIR EDMUND ANDROS. 



The records of the Superior Court of Judicature held at 
New Haven, for the counties of New Haven and Fairfield, and 
at Hartford for the counties of Hartford and New London, 
with the county of Hampshire in Massachusetts, are not in 
any of our record repositories, nor do we know that they 
exist. Sessions were to be held in both places twice in each 
year, and we are informed that the first was held at New 
Haven April 10, 1688, and at Hartford on the 13th of the 
same month, and in September following they were likewise 
held in either place. 

The Records of the Court of Sessions and of the Inferior 
Court of Common Pleas for Hartford County are in the pos- 
session of Hon. J. Hammond Trumbull. They are in a thin 
book of 27 leaves about llf by 74 inches in size, and without 
covers. The book begins with the Court of Sessions held at 
Hartford March, 1687-8, at which Lt.-Col. Talcott, Humphrey 
Davie, Samuel Wyllys, Gershom Bulkeley, Benja. Newberry, 
John Wadsworth, Samuel Talcott, Giles Hamlin, and John 
Chester, Justices, were present. On the 8th of the same 
month a session of the Inferior Court of Pleas was held, at 
which were present John Allyn, Esq , Judge, Lt.-Col. John 
Talcott, Sam. Wyllys, Gershom Bulkeley, Benj. Newberry, 
John Wadsworth, Sam. Talcott, Giles Hamlin, and John 
Chester, Esqrs. Other sessions were held as follows : Court 
of Sessions, June 5 and 19, September 4, 11, and 18, October 
2 and 30, December 4 and 27, 1688. Inferior Court, April 3, 
May 25, June 7 and 19, October 30, December 6 and 27, 1688, 
January 22, February 1 and 5, March 5 and 7, 1689. In 
this inferior court the estates of a number of decedents were 
settled, wholly or in part; some wills and inventories are 



12 

recorded ; officers, such as packers, gaugers, etc., were ap- 
pointed, and ferrymen and taverners licensed. 

The Records for the General Quarter Sessions for the 
County of New Haven were a few years since pasted into the 
record book of the county court at the place of the corres- 
ponding year. It began on the first Tuesday in March, 1687 
-8, and ended on the first Tuesday of March, 1688-9. There 
were five sessions : at the first and last no business was 
recorded. 



HARTFORD COUNTY. 



RECORDS IN THE PROBATE COURT OF THE DISTRICT OP 
HARTFORD. 

The first book of wills and inventories of the Colony was 
printed in 1850, forming a part of the Colonial Records of 
Connecticut, 1636-1665, and it has already been mentioned 
that volumes II and III of the particular court and Hartford 
county court, which contain records of wills and inventories, 
1650-1677, are in the Secretary's office at the capitol. 

The probate court was not separated from the county court 
until 1698, but it was found convenient that those volumes of 
the county court records which contained wills, etc., and 
probate proceedings should be kept in the probate office 
rather than in the office of the county clerk. When the 
probate courts were established the districts were made coter- 
minous with the four counties then existing, and the county 
lines continued to be the boundary lines of the districts for 
a number of years. The establishment of Windham district 
in May, 1719, took the towns of Windham and Mansfield from 
Hartford district. Woodbury district, in October of the 
same year took away the towns of Litchfield and Waterbury. 
East Haddam district in October 1741 took off the towns of 
East Haddam, Haddam, Colchester, and Hebron, with the 
parish of Middle Haddam. The district of Litchfield in Octo- 
ber, 1742, of Middletown in May, 1752,' of Stafford in May, 
1759, Farmington in January, 1769, Simsbury in May of the 
same year, further diminished the size of the Hartford dis- 
trict, and the process of division has been continued until that 
district now embraces but eight towns, while the four districts 
into which the colony was divided in 1666 have been multi- 



14 

plied twenty-eight fold, — numbering one hundred and twelve 
in this year 1888. 

The County Court Records in the Hartford Probate office 
are : 

Vol. IV. From February, 1 677-8, to October, 1687, when 
the government was interrupted by Sir Edmund Andros: 135 
pages, then 24 pages mostly filled with probate proceedings in 
1697, which by " mistake " had been omitted from Book No. 
V. Reversing the volume are wills and inventories from 
March, 1677-8, to September, 168T, 264 pages. Pages 265 
and 266 contain records whiclrhad been omitted elsewhere. 

Vol. V. Records of court doings from May, 1689, to Sep- 
tember, 1697, 135 pages. In the reverse, wills and inven- 
tories October, 1689, to November, 1696, fill 230 pages. 

Vol. VI. Court proceedings November, 1697, to December, 
1706, 311 pages. It has been mentioned that some of the 
records of 1697 are to be found in Vol. IV. Then pages 
312-315 contain miscellaneous matter to 1711. Reverse : 
wills and inventories March, 1696-7, to January, 1700-1, 
with two pages of entries of date 1715. 

These volumes are in good condition and indexed for 
names. 

Vol. VII. This is the first volume which consists of 
probate records only, separated from the records of the 
county court. It begins with court doings September, 1700, 
to December, 1709, 137 pages, and at the other end wills and 
inventories September, 1700, to March, 1709. 

From this time onward the records are complete. Up to 
vol. 55, 1854, the court acts are recorded in one end of the 
book, and the wills, inventories, distributions, etc., in the 
other end, each with its own pagination. There is no Gen- 
eral Index, but eacli volume has its own index for probate 
matters only. 

The files of wills, inventories, etc., recorded in Books I, II, 
III, which, as has been told, are in the Secretary's office, may 
be found here, and they are tolerably complete : the earliest is 
of the date 1640. They have lately been arranged in such 
manner as to render them conveniently accessible. 



RECORDS IN THE OFFICE OF THE CLERK 
FOR HARTFORD COUNTY. 



COUNTY COURT RECORDS. 

The oldest volume of records at the clerk's office in the 
court-house is a parchment-bound book labelled Book G, No. 
7. On the inside of the cover is written, " This is the Sev- 
enth Book of the Records of the Acts of the County Courts 
in the County of Hartford in the Colony of Connecticut in 
New England." It is the first volume in which the acts of 
the county courts are recorded apart from those of the pro- 
bate court. It is not an original. On a waste leaf is written 
" This Book of the County Court Records, written in the 
year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and fourty by 
Benja. Dod." It contains records of the Inferior Court of 
Pleas or County Court, from March 4, 1706-7, to November, 
1717, 536 pages, with 4 unnumbered, and in the reverse about 
43 leaves of executions. 

A volume which was probably Yol. VIII, April, 1718, to 
June, 1719, is here missing. It was sold in New York, 
March, 1879, as part of the Brinley Library, and is now in 
the Watkinson Library, Hartford. With it was the Record 
of the Court for the Trial of Small Causes, June, 1727, to 
May, 1731, and of Chancery Cases, May to August, 1736, 
growing out of the repeal of the charter of the New London 
Society united for Trade and Commerce. 

Book H. This volume, which would be the ninth, is 
parchment bound, unpaged, but has about 150 leaves, — some 
are gone from the back part. It covers the period from 
November, 1719, to March, 1721-2. 

Book I. Parchment bound, containing 500 or 600 unnuni- 



16 

bered pages, covering from April, 1722, to November, 1725. 
A few executions are entered in the front and back parts of 
the volume. 

Book J. Parchment cover. Has about 500 unnumbered 
pages. The first 11 leaves contain executions ; then come 
Court Records, February, 1725-6, to November, 1727. In 
some terms the cases are numbered, and in some the record 
of the term is preceded by an Alphabet. In the reverse are 
9 leaves of executions, etc. 

Book L. Parchment bound. Has from 400 to 500 un- 
numbered pages. From February, 1727-8, to November, 
1729. (The fly-leaf incorrectly says to November, 1731.) 
Reverse, 4 leaves of executions. 

Book K. Parchment. About 150 unpaged leaves, Febru- 
ary, 1729-30, to February, 1730-1. Reverse, 2 leaves of 
executions. 

Paper book of about 50 unpaged leaves, April to August, 
1731. 

Book M. Parchment. About 300 unpaged leaves, May, 
1731, to April, 1735. 

Book N. Parchment. 250 to 300 unpaged leaves, June, 
1735, to November, 1737. . 

Book O, though the label is lost from the back. Parch- 
ment. From 250 to 300 unpaged leaves, January, 1737-8, 
to January, 1739-40. Reverse, 22 leaves for June, 1738. 

Book P. About 350 unpaged leaves, April, 1740, to June, 
1742. 

Book Q. About 250 unpaged leaves, April, 1742, to Nov- 
ember, 1744. 

Book R. About 250 leaves, January, 1744-5, to June, 
1747, and about 40 loose leaves, November, 1747, to June, 
1748. 

Book S. About 350 leaves, November, 1748, to January, 
1754. Reverse, 5 leaves of executions. 

Book T. About 300 leaves, April, 1754, to June, 1759. 
The record for April-June, 1759, is on loose leaves laid in. 
Reverse, 7 leaves of executions. 



17 

Book V. About 300 leaves, November, 1759, to January, 
1763, filling about two-thirds of the volume. Reverse, about 
one-third of the volume contains executions. 

Here occurs a break in the records from 1763 to 1771. 
Probably two volumes are missing. 

Book U. About 200 leaves, June, 1771, to January, 1773. 
Reverse, 10 leaves of executions. 

Book W. About 300 leaves, of which perhaps two-thirds 
have been used, April, 1773, to November, 1774. 

Here occurs a large break. Several volumes, three or four 
at least, covering the period from 1774 to 1798, cannot be 
found. How long they have been missing is unknown. 

Court Records of Trials, from November, 1798, to March, 
1803. Reverse, 4 leaves, as to Prison limits, Turnpikes, 
Highways, etc. 

Court Records (civil) August, 1803, to December, 1809. 
Reverse, 10 leaves of Appointments of Deputy Sheriffs, Crim- 
inal Trials, etc., to 1811. A thick volume. 

Court Records. Perhaps 300 leaves, March, 1810, to 
March, 1819. Reverse, 5 leaves, Sheriff's Deputies, etc. 

Court Records. A thick volume, August, 1819, to March, 
1828. Reverse, 17 leaves, conservators and miscellaneous 
matters. 

Court Records. A thick volume, August, 1828, to August, 

1834. Reverse, 18 leaves, Appointments, Special Trials, etc., 
1829-31. 

Hitherto all the volumes are unpaged and unindexed. 
The letters G-, H, etc., have been put on them in modern 
times, and not always with due regard to their proper 
sequence. 

Court Records. A thick volume of 506 pages, March, 

1835, to August, 1839. Reverse, 45 pages of Appointments 
and miscellaneous matter. This is the first volume of the 
series in this office which is paged and has indexes, but the 
volume, like sundry of its predecessors and successors, is not 
numbered. 



18 

Court Records. 560 pages, November, 1839, to November, 
1844. Reverse, 31 pages of miscellaneous matter. Indexed. 

Court Records. 634 pages, November, 1844, to August, 
1850. Reverse, 28 pages " Sheriff's Records," and miscella- 
neous. Not indexed. 

Court Records. 368 pages, November, 1850, to March, 
1854. 

Another series whereof the volumes are not numbered is 
composed of waste books which have been bound up in recent 
times and labelled Court Docket and Record. Each volume 
is made up of several of these waste books, some of which 
are but remnants of their former selves. In some respects 
they are more important than the regular reco'rds, since they 
record such judgments as were paid or satisfied and such as 
were appealed from, not recorded in the latter. They also 
contain appointments, etc. They measurably fill lacunas in 
the regular series of records. 

November, 1754, to January, 1760. 

April, 1760, to November, 1764. 

April, 1763, to January, 1767, of a larger size, not con- 
secutive years. 

January, 1765, to November, 1768. On the front waste 
leaf of the last book is drawn a map of Hartford county. 

January, 1769, to November, 1770, little and big. 

January, 1771, to November, 1772. 

January, 1773, to November, 1774. 

January, 1775, to April, 1777. 

November, 1777, to November, 1781. 

February, 1782, to November, 1783. 

February, 1784, to November, 1785. 

January, 1786, to November, 1787. 

February, 1788, to November, 1789. 

January, 1790, to November, 1791. 

January, 1792, to November, 1794. 

January, 1795, to November, 1796. This volume also con- 
tains 5 leaves of Appointments, about 100 pages of Defaults, 
March, 1796 — March, 1797; Taverner's Licenses about 40 
leaves, 1796 — 1799. 



19 

January, 1797, to March, 1798. 

Some of the waste books bound up in this series have their 
dockets. 

Dockets. These have been bound, six or eight to a volume. 
They contain names of attorneys, the number of the case, 
names of parties to suits, and a space for minutes by the 
clerk. There are 18 volumes, not numbered, covering from 
1799 to 1855. 

Defaults. Prior to 1775 judgments by default may have 
been entered in the same volumes with other judgments. 
The volumes of this series are not numbered. They are 
neither paged nor indexed. 

January, 1775 — February, 1782. A thick volume, with 
four cases per printed page. 

February, 1782, to November, 1783. 

February, 1784, to November, 1785. 

November, 1785, to November, 1786. About one-third of 
the book used. 

No volumes from 1786 to 1797 of this series are found. 

November, 1797, to February, 1798. There are also about 
156 executions on 39 pages. 

March, 1798, to November, 1801. 

November, 1801, to December, 1804. 

December, 1804, to March, 1808. 

March, 1808, to March, 1810. 

December, 1809, to December, 1811. And nine volumes 
more, bringing them down to March, 1855. 

Executions, There are nine volumes uniformly bound, all 
purporting to be recorded by George Wyllys, clerk (who died 
in 1796). They were all apparently written at the same 
time in the same printed form. The volumes are not num- 
bered nor given particular titles. The printed portion is on 
every 5th page, leaving 3 pages blank for writing out the 
return. It would seem that the volumes were filled up from 
old files not chronologically arranged. The volumes are 
without paging or index. The following are the proximate 
dates covered by each : 1737-98; 1743-98; 1744-98; 1747- 
98; 1748-98; 1753-98; 1763-98; 1763-87. 



20 

There are 7 more volumes of executions, 1798 — 1820. 
Two of them, 1798 — 1807, are partially indexed: the others 
are not indexed. 

Judgments. One volume, December, 1809 — March, 1820, 
two cases per printed page. Not paged nor indexed. 

Appointments of Auditors to hear Cases pending in Court. 
One volume March, 1804 — August, 1841. Not paged nor 
indexed. 

Criminal Costs. There are three unnumbered volumes so 
lettered. They are records of costs taxed in criminal cases 
both in the Superior and County Courts. They cover the 
period 1843-55, and are neither paged nor indexed. 

Appeals. There are 4 unnumbered volumes, 1798 — 1855, 
neither paged nor indexed. 

Taverners Licensed. Those from 1796-99 are to be found 
in the volume of Court Docket and Record, 1795-6, before 
mentioned, There are two volumes not paged nor indexed, 
7 licenses recorded per printed page, extending from March, 
1808, to September, 1860. After 1855, these licenses were 
granted by the Superior Court. 

Naturalization Records. There are 4 volumes of these, 
1834-1855, and 1 volume of Declarations of Intention, 
1853-5. Neither are paged nor indexed. 

Pensioners of the Revolutionary War. There are 2 vol- 
umes : one containing the statements by 194 pensioners 
required by an act of Congress of May 1, 1820, all made in 
that year ; the other containing 80 statements, 1820-32. 
Both these were indexed by the late N. H. Morgan. 

Files of the Hartford County Court. The bulk of these are 
said to be contained in five large trunks in an upper room of 
the county building : some are mingled with early files of 
the Superior Court in the record room of that court. They 
are not labelled nor in good order. 

SUPERIOR COURT, HARTFORD COUNTY. 

As has been already mentioned, the records of the Supe- 
rior Court from its establishment in 1711 to 1798, for all the 
counties, are to be found at the Capitol. The' records in the 



21 

clerk's office are, as is believed, complete from 1798, and con- 
sist of — 

Records of trials, from September, 1798, in 29 vols. 

Defaults, 3 vols., 1841 

Executions, 2 vols., 1799-1820. 

Insolvency cases, 1 vol., 1829-1841. 

Divorces, 4 vols., 1864 

Naturalizations, 2 vols., 1838" 



Declarations of intended Citizenship, 2 vols., 1856 

Naturalization Dockets, 4 vols., 1858 

Criminal Costs, 8 vols. 

Notaries Public commissioned, 8 vols., 1871 

Liquor Licenses, 2 vols. 

Sheriff's Deputies. A record of their appointment begin- 
ning 1854. 

Manuscript Dockets. There are 40 or more bound volumes 
and some unbound. The earliest now found begins 1805. 
These contain memoranda of official orders, etc., not else- 
where found, except such as are on the back of files. 

General Index.' Since 1873 a general index (Burr's) has 
been kept, in which all names of parties to suits, etc., have 
been entered. 

Files. About 350 bundles are contained in file cases to 
which there are marks of indication affixed ; some 300 more 
bundles are labelled. 

SUPREME COURT OF ERRORS. 

By an act of the General Assembly passed in May, 1819, it 
was provided that the Supreme Court should be held once a 
year, in each county of the State. It had previously been 
held alternately at Hartford and New Haven. The first ses- 
sion under the new arrangement was held at Hartford in 
June, 1820. 

There are two volumes : one June, 1820, to September, 
1864, contains, besides cases in error and the judgments and 
orders of the court thereon, appointments, allotments of 
judges, rules of court, etc. The record is fuller than that 



22 

now kept. It is not indexed. The other, beginning Febru- 
ary, 1864, is the current volume. 

Manuscript Docket of the First Judicial District. This 
begins in January, 1879. 

The first judicial district was constituted at the May session, 
1866, and consisted of the counties of Hartford and Tolland. 
Middlesex County was annexed in 1874, Windham County in 
1879, and Litchfield County in 1881. 



NEW HAVEN COUNTY. 



TOWN CLERK'S OFFICE. 

The record of the courts of the Plantation of New Haven, 
commencing with 1639, the record of a few sessions of the 
General Court and Court of Magistrates for the Jurisdiction 
of New Haven, 1643-4, and the record of New Haven Town 
Courts to November, 1649, are contained in a large folio, 
which was printed in 1857. 

The continuation of this volume, from February, 1649-50, 
to July, 1662, is in a smaller folio of 378 pages -f, of which 
a transcript made by Mr. Dexter is in the State Library at 
Hartford. 

Town Records, 1662-78, is a further continuation. The 
latest recorded town court is Feb. 12, 1671-2, when a person 
was fined for selling cider to an Indian. 

What were called in the Connecticut Colony town meet- 
ings were called general courts in the towns which composed 
the New Haven Jurisdiction. Copies of the early records of 
Guilford, Stamford, and Greenwich, which belonged to that 
government, are in the State Library. 

PROBATE OFFICE. 

Volume First, in two parts : Part I, wills, inventories, 
etc., 1647-1687 ; part II, wills, inventories, etc., 1666-1687. 
In good condition, newly bound with the old covers pre- 
served, and with a cotemporary index. 

Volume Second. Newly bound over the old parchment 
covers. There were 339 pages, but the first 19 are lost. It 
contains wills, inventories, and court orders, 1688-1703. 

From 1703 the records are supposed to be complete. They 
are more voluminous than those in the Hartford probate 



24 

office, because kept in fuller form. They have been indexed 
in 5 manuscript volumes, covering vols. 1-182 of the records, 
and the period 1647-1883. The following are headings to 
the index : Name, Residence, Date, Vol., Page, Remarks- 
The date is that at which the matter was received in court. 
Under " remarks " is stated whether the estate was testate or 
intestate, whether the party was a minor or incompetent per- 
son, etc. 

In the New Haven Jurisdiction, which comprised the towns 
of New Haven, Milford, Guilford, Branford, and Stamford, it 
was provided by law that wills and inventories should be 
entered at length in the plantation (or town) records, and 
then the originals delivered to the secretary of the jurisdic- 
tion, who should keep them on file and enter only a brief 
abstract of them on the jurisdiction records. A considerable 
number of wills, etc., are found on the Stamford town records 
between 1646 and 1695; the latter date, it will be observed, 
being some thirty years after the extinction of the New 
Haven government. It is understood that no wills are re- 
corded in the other towns, though there are early probate 
proceedings in Guilford records. 

COUNTY CLERK'S OFFICE. 

Vol. I. Parchment bound, pages 280 and a separate index- 
It covers the years 1666-98. Between pages 168 and 169 
four leaves are inserted containing " The Records of the Gen- 
eral Quarter Sessions for the County of Newhaven. Began 
in March, 1687-8." 

Vol. II. Parchment. 1699-1713. Portions of this vol- 
ume have been corroded by the ink, but it has been copied so 
far as it could be, and the copy kept with the original. 

Vol. III. Parchment. 1713-1738. 

Vol. IV. Rebound. 1739-1757. 

Vol. V. 1755-1764. All after p. 590 is record of 
executions. 

Vol. VI. 1764-1767. All after p. 242 is record of 
executions. 



25 

Vol. VII. 1767-1773, but lettered 1767-1776. 

Vol. VIII. 1774-1783, but lettered 1776-1783. 

Vols. IX-XXVII. 1783-1855. The printed records begin 
with Vol. XVII. All the volumes of the New Haven County 
Courts are indexed. 

Equity Records covers the period 1773-1821 in this court- 

Some Files are preserved of date as early as 1700. 

SUPERIOR COURT, NEW HAVEN COUNTY. 

Volumes I-XLV, 1798 to the present time. 

Manuscript Dockets begin in 1798. — 33 vols. 

Criminal Records are in a separate series in 4 vols., begin- 
ning in 1837. 

Naturalization Records are in 5 vols. 

Declarations of Intention in 3 vols. 

Liquor Licenses in 9 vols. 

A G-eneral Index was begun in 1860. 

Index of Cases in the Superior Court, 1860 to the present 
time, in 2 vols. In this index the name of each party to a 
suit is mentioned twice. All orders and appointments are 
indexed, and all suits excepting Divorces. 

SUPREME COURT OF ERRORS. 

The records are complete from July, 1820, in 5 vols. 

PILES. 

The Files of the County Court from about 1700 to 1857, 
and those of the Superior Court from 1798, appear to be full 
and in good order. 

IN GENERAL. 

The court records of New Haven County have been well 
kept, and are in better condition than those of either of the 
other original counties. 



NEW LONDON COUNTY. 



The doings of a Session of Magistrates at Pequett, April 
25, 1651, of a Particular Court, March 24, 1653-4, of a Court 
of Magistrates, June 13, 1655, both held at the same place, 
are recorded in the second book of the records of the Partic- 
ular Court now in the Secretary's office. In May, 1660, and 
again in October, 1661, provision was made by the General 
Assembly for holding a Court at New London. The County 
Court for New London County was established in May, 1666. 
The records are now kept at Norwich. 

COUNTY COURT. 

The first volume is an unbound book of fifty-eight leaves, 
eleven by seven inches in size. Before June, 1667, the hand- 
writing is mostly that of Obadiah Bruen ; after June, 1667, 
mostly in that of Daniel Wetherell ; there are, however, 
portions which were written by Secretaries John Allyn and 
Daniel Clark. The earliest entry in the book is February, 
1661-2. There are 11 pages of memoranda of writs, etc. 
The first session of a court recorded is Dec. 31, 1663, and 
the last is of a county court, Sept. 19, 1667. At the end are 
nine pages of miscellaneous records, such as the entry of 
horses shipped from the port of New London from September, 
1661, and some marriages. A transcript of this volume* is 
in the State Library at Hartford. 

The second volume is without covers. Some of the leaves 
at either end are missing, and those remaining much frayed. 
It begins September (?), 1668, and ends in June, 1669. It 
contains records of trials, probate orders, inventories, and 
some marriages. 

Volume 111 has no covers, and leaves are wanting at either 



27 

end, and those remaining are frayed. The earliest entry is 
June (?), 1670, and the latest June 7, 1681. It includes 
probate orders and inventories. Some entries are in 
short-hand. 

Volume IV has a thin paper cover. Some loose leaves 
from some other volume or volumes are laid in. It begins 
with Sept. 20, 1681, and ends with a session (at Stonington) 
of Jan. 22,1683-4. 

Volume V is tied up with the preceding. It begins with 
June 3, 1684, and ends with Feb. 22, 1686-7. 

Volume VI has no covers, and some early leaves are miss- 
ing. The earliest entry seems to be of June 7, 1687, and 
the latest of those chronologically arranged is Oct. 27, 1687, 
but there are irregular entries so late as April 8, 1701. 

Volume VII has parchment covers. It is entitled Probate 
and County Court Records, and like all the preceding vol- 
umes has probate orders, etc. The earliest entry is June 4, 
1689, and the last, June, 1703. The records of the courts in 
this county during the Andros government do not seem to 
exist. At the end of the volume are recorded a few 
executions. 

From 1703 to 1711, the records are missing. 

Volume VIII (if it may properly be so designated) is in 
brown-paper covers, and consists of some half-dozen waste 
books now tied together. It seems to cover the whole period 
from June 5, 1711, to Sept. 23, 1715. Like all preceding 
volumes, it is unpaged and unindexed. 

Volume IX is bound and indexed, and apparently a copy 
of the preceding down to Nov. 23, 1714, p. 106. 

Volume X, Aug. 9, 1715, to Nov. 27, 1716, is in paper 
covers. There is laid in a Docket of Cases, which are 
numbered. 

Volume XI, Feb. 19, 1716-7, to Mar. 11, 1717-8. In 
paper covers. 

Volume XII, June 3, 1718, to Nov. 24, 1719. In paper 
covers. There is a Docket for part of the volume. 

Volume XIII, Feb. 23, 1719-20, to Nov. 22, 1720. In 



28 

paper covers. It has Dockets of Cases, as do the succeeding 
volumes. 

Volume XIV, Feb. 7, 1720-1, to Nov. 26, 1723. In 
boards. 

Volume XV, Feb. 25, 1723-4, to June 18, 1725. In 
parchment. 

Volumes XVI-XXVI, Nov. 23, 1725, to Nov. 22, 1768. 
In boards. 

For the period between November, 1768, to November, 
1784, the records seem to be lost. They are complete from 
November, 1784, to June, 1855, when the court ceased 
to exist. 

There is an Index from June, 1847, to June, 1855. 

There are six volumes of Defaults, 1809-1855. 

There are four volumes of Executions, 1790-1820, 
indexed. 

From 1835 to 1855, the manuscript dockets are bound in 
five volumes. 

A pile of about 300 leaves, burnt at the top, bottom, and 
edges of both sides, contains records of Judgments, 1817- 
1832. It is wrapped in a paper and curiously had been sup- 
posed to be the remains of a volume saved from the confla- 
gration at New London in 1781. 

There are three volumes of Appeals from the County 
Court, 1809-55. Not indexed. 

There is one volume of Naturalization Records, which is 
indexed. 

The Files appear to be pretty complete from 1701. 

SUPERIOR COURT, NEW LONDON COUNTY. 

The court records are complete from 1798, when the court 
for the first time had a clerk in each county, to the present 
time, and they are contained in 15 volumes. Before 1856, 
the volumes are not indexed, but they generally have dockets 
of cases. 

From August, 1856, the criminal records are kept in a 



29 

separate series. of volumes, of which there are now three, all 
indexed. 

From August, 1857, Divorces have been recorded in sepa- 
rate volumes, of which there are now four, all indexed. 

There is one volume of Insolvency Cases, March, 1833, to 
September, 1841, not indexed. 

There are two volumes of Defaults, 1853-61, indexed. 

Beginning in 1836, the manuscript dockets have been kept 
in separate volumes, 22 in number. 

Declaration of Intended Citizenship are in three volumes, 
indexed. 

Records of Naturalization are in three volumes, indexed. 

The Files are preserved since 1798. 

SUPREME COURT, NEW LONDON COUNTY. 

The Records of the Supreme Court when held in this 
county are in two volumes, Yol. I, October, 1819 — October, 
1864, not indexed. Vol. II is the current volume and is 
indexed. 

In 1866, Windham County was united with New London 
County to form the Second Judicial District. In 1881, 
Windham County was detached and annexed to the First 
Judicial District. 

PROBATE COURT AT NEW LONDON. 

Proceedings relative to the settlement of estates before 
1698, when the probate courts were erected, are to be sought 
for in the records of the New London County Court, estab- 
lished in 1666 ; and before that date either in the special 
courts held at New London or in the Particular Court at 
Hartford. 

In 1698, the county of New London embraced the towns of 
New London, Killingworth, Lyme, Norwich, Preston, Say- 
brook, and Stonington. Colchester was in this district from 
1699 to 1708, when it was transferred to Hartford County ; 
Lebanon was in the district frbm 1700 to October, 1719, 
when it was made a member of Windham district which was 
the first district established not coterminous with a county ; 



30 

Plainfield and Canterbury were in New London County until 
1719; Yoluntown was within New London County from 1719 
to 1726, when it was included in Windham County ; Killing- 
worth and Say brook were detached from the district in 1719 
and made part of the new district of Guilford. The district 
of Norwich, embracing that town and Preston, was erected 
in October, 1748, and the new district of Stonington, em- 
bracing that town with Groton, in October, 1766. These are 
all the changes of boundaries of probate districts in New 
London County before 1776. 

In the probate office at New London is a manuscript vol- 
ume, entitled : "Alphabetical Index of Probate Files remain- 
ing from 1763 to 1777, inclusive. See memo, within. The 
Journals remain from the beginning to April 22, 1763." 
The memorandum inside is as follows : " Alphabetical Index 
of Papers remaining of Probate Files from the year 1763 to 
1777, inclusive; the figures referring to the years, the papers 
of each year being filed together. W, Wills ; I, Inventory ; 
Div. and Dis., Division or Distribution of Estates ; Com. Rep. 
Report of Commissioners on Insolvent Estates ; Ad. Ac. and 
Ex. Ac. Administrator's and Executor's Accounts; Reps., 
Receipts. — On the 6th of September, 1781, were burnt, the 
Record of Wills, etc., from the beginning ; Files since the year 
1777 ; and Journals from April, 1763 ; so that there are re- 
maining (before 6 September, 1781,) the Journals from the 
first to the 22d of April, 1763, and Files from the beginning 
to the year 1777 inclusive, (unless some scattering ones may 
be missing;) and in general maybe found in the bundle 
marked with the year in which business to which they relate 
was transacted. 

Certif. New London, Jan. -28, 1788. 

pr. JOSHUA COIT, Oik. Co. Prob. D. N. L." 

The Journals begin with May 29, 1700, -extend to April 
22, 1763,-6 vols., then begin again Sept. 14, 1781. 

The Record Books, so called, contain the record of wills, 
inventories, etc., beginning with No. 1, which commences 
with Oct; 9, 1782, all those preceding having been destroyed. 



FAIRFIELD COUNTY. 



There was a court held at Fairfield for the trial of small 
causes from 1639 or 1640, and there are sundry references to 
courts held there before the division of the colony into coun- 
ties in 1666. 

PROBATE OFFICE, FAIRFIELD. 

Volume I. On the cover of this book is the label " Probate 
Records, 1648-56," pp. 94, with index. The top of the book 
is much injured by corrosion of ink : from one to four inches 
of the length of many leaves being gone. A memorandum 
by Andrew Rowland, who was appointed clerk in 1764, says 
that this damage was done " three or four years before the 
records came to me as clerk ; viz., while Dav'd Rowland, 
Esq., was clerk, and Col. Burr judge." The oldest inventory 
in the book is dated June, 1048, but the first entry in order 
of paging is dated August, 1654, and there are records so 
late as March, 1662-3. Some Fairfield County wills were 
probated at Hartford before 1666. Mention has already been 
made that there are a number of early wills and inventories, 
1646-1695, recorded in Stamford town records. 

" The second Book of Records, begun June 28th day, A.D. 
1655." 85 pages, with 5 pages of receipts, etc., in the back 
of the volume, and an index made about a century ago. 

The third volume, 1675-1690, has 308 pages. At the end 
are 44 pages of reversed leaves. 

The next volume, not numbered, 1689-1701. This and 
the two preceding volumes contain so much of the Fairfield 
County court records as has reference to the settlement of 
estates. 



32 

FAIRFIELD COUNTY COURT RECORDS. 

These are kept at Bridgeport. The volumes are not num- 
bered nor indexed. The oldest now found is from March 
1702-3 to 1741. 

Two volumes of 144 and 185 old leaves, respectively, and 
of the periods 1703-1719 and 1720-23, are made up by 
mounting original leaves upon new paper. 

Yolume, parchment bound, 1741-50. 

Yolume, parchment, 1748-9 to 1750-1. 

Yolume, boards, April, 1751, to May, 1752. 

Yolume, parchment, 1752-55. 

Yolume, old leather, 1755-57. 

Seven volumes contain the records from 1758 to 1783. 

A book of five leaves contains Libels in Admiralty, 
1779-80. 

A book of which only 48 leaves were used, 1787-8. 

One of which only 19 leaves were used, 1795. 

Ten volumes, 1800-55. Most of the foregoing are un- 
indexed. 

There are six unnumbered volumes of Executions, 1785- 
1820. Four of them are indexed. 

There is one volume of Appeals, 1826-52, not indexed. 

One volume contains county court records, 1851-5, 208 
pp., and miscellaneous records (county commissioners) to 
1887, pp. 209-52. 

FAIRFIELD COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT. 

These are kept at Bridgeport, and there are 19 unnum- 
bered volumes, and generally unindexed, from 1798 to the 
present time. 

One volume of Executions, 1778-1820, partially indexed. 

Six volumes of Divorces, 1866-87. 

Three volumes of Defaults, 1841-87. 

Eight volumes of Naturalization records, 1842-87. 

One volume, Foreclosures of Mortgages, 1885-87. 

Four volumes of Criminal Records, 1854-87. 



33 

Twenty-two volumes of MS. Dockets (Civil), 1840-87. 
Four volumes of MS. Dockets (Criminal), 1869-87. 
Two volumes of Appointments of Attorneys, etc., 1861-87. 
Eight volumes of Criminal Costs, 1855-87. 

SUPREME COURT OF ERRORS, FAIRFIELD COUNTY. 

These are also at Bridgeport. 

The first volume begins in June, 1820, and ends in Octo- 
ber, 1859. 

A second volume was begun in 1879. 



WINDHAM COUNTY. 



The court records of this county have been ruined 'by hav- 
ing been kept in a damp vault. The covers of some volumes 
have rotted off, the paper is decayed and mouldy, and the 
writing in many places illegible. 

WINDHAM COUNTY COURT RECORDS. 

These are now kept in two large iron safes in the court 
house in Brooklyn. Most of them are not indexed. 

Yolume I begins in June, 1726, and ends in February, 
1732. In bad order. 

Volumes II and III are missing. 

Yolume IV. Parchment bound. February, 1739-40, to 
March, 1741. A rotten mass. 

Volume V. December, 1741, to 1744. Very tender, but 
generally legible. 

There are twenty-nine more volumes of county court rec- 
ords covering the period from 1744 to 1855, a few of which 
are in good condition, but most of them are more or less 
mouldy and decayed. 

SUPERIOR COURT, WINDHAM COUNTY. 

Volume I. September, 1798, to January, 1811. 

Volume [II.] September, 1811, to September, 1823. 
Cover off ; in pieces ; leaves frayed ; ruinously mouldy. 

Volume [III.] January, 1824, to January, 1835, in about 
the same condition. 

Volume [IV.] October, 1835, to January, 1844. Mouldy. 

The other volumes of this series are in good condition. 

Uxecutiovis, 1800-18. Cover off ; leaves loose and mouldy. 

Insolvent Debtors, one volume, 1828-41. Cover off; 
mouldy. 



35 

Defaults, October, 1839-1872, good. 

Manuscript Dockets, nine volumes, in good condition. 

Since 1876, Civil Causes have been indexed in a Burr Index. 

The Court Files at Brooklyn are in a wretched condition, 
from the dampness of the place where they were kept in part, 
and partly apparently from the ravages of vermin. 

An Act was passed in 1887, providing for rewriting of 
such records of the Superior Court as one of the judges 
should find required it for their preservation. It is under- 
stood that some progress has been made in the transcrip- 
tion of a volume. 

SUPREME COURT, WINDHAM COUNTY. 

One volume : July, 1827, to August, 1871 ; cover off ; book 
about one-third used ; unpaged. In 1866 this county, with 
that of New London, formed the third judicial district, but it 
was annexed to the first district in 1879. 



LITCHFIELD COUNTY. 



Mr. Kilbourn, the clerk, reports that the county court rec- 
ords are substantially complete from 1751, indexed after a 
fashion, and in pretty fair condition. 

The files are imperfect, and some of them badly worm- 
eaten. 

The Superior Court records are presumed to be complete 
from 1798, in pretty good condition, and poorly indexed. 
The files are generally in good condition. 

The Supreme Court records are understood to be complete. 



MIDDLESEX COUNTY. 



The County Court records from 1T85 to December, 1800, 
are missing : from 1800 to 1855 they are in good order and 
indexed. The Files exist from 1785. 

The Superior Court records and files from 1798 are in good 
condition, and the records are indexed. 

The Supreme Court records are complete from 1820. 



TOLLAND COUNTY. 



The clerk reports the condition of the county court records 
from 1786 as good, and that they are indexed, and that the 
files are in a good state. 

The Superior Court records he also reports as complete 
and in good order, and indexed from 1T99, and that the files 
are also in good order. 

Of the Supreme Court he says he can find no records back 
of 1853. 



Iff, 




027 211 098 






